jsnyd
Newbie
Can anyone recommend a telephoto for the Bessa R2? I know the longest from Voigtlander is 90mm, but I was looking for a longer lens for wildlife shooting.
Telephoto for my Bessa R2
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back alley
IMAGES
the longest lens normally associated with rf cameras is a 135.
there are tons of them out there.
joe
there are tons of them out there.
joe
Stick with a "slow" 135 on the R2 due to it's short baselength finder. The good news is that there are lots of very good 135/4.5 lenses out there.
VictorM.
Well-known
There's a nice Canon screw mount 135/3.5 for sale on the pnet Leica forum. It will fit the R2 with a readily available adapter.
back alley
IMAGES
don't forget scott still has a couple of hektor 135's for sale too.
GeneW
Veteran
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by wildlife, but in my experience wildlife shooting begins at 300mm. RF's are not ideally suited to wildlife photography.jsnyd said:
Gene
K
Kin Lau
Guest
Unless your wildlife is very big, and lets you get fairly close, a 135 won't likely do the job. Most of my wildlife shooting is birds with a Canon 300D & 350D and 400mm & 500mm lenses and I still crop down to a quarter frame or less quite often. That's 640mm & 800mm equiv. Even a Blue Heron or Great Egret with a 6ft wingspan is rather small when it's 50 to 100 ft away.
Even when shooting at the zoo, I still need a 200mm with a 35mm film slr.
Even when shooting at the zoo, I still need a 200mm with a 35mm film slr.
jsnyd
Newbie
Thanks for everyone's thoughts. Gene and Kin, you're right about the need for longer focal lengths for "wildlife" shooting. I guess I meant to say close up nature/landscape shots. I'll be kayaking and backpacking in Alaska at the end of the month, and I'm planning on bringing my Bessa R2 for the lightness factor, but I only have a 35/2.5 and a 75/2.5. I'm looking for a lens that will bring me closer to the glaciers and mountains than I'll likely be able to get in the kayak. I'm also hoping not to get too close to the bears, but with only a RF, I guess I'll just have to cut my losses...
back alley
IMAGES
35/75 is a great pairing.
i tried a canon 135 on my bessa r and was surprised at how well they felt together.
joe
i tried a canon 135 on my bessa r and was surprised at how well they felt together.
joe
laptoprob
back to basics
I have a clean Serenar 135 with finder and original leather case coming up for sale. I still have to make some pics of it. Not sure what I should ask though.
Rob.
Rob.
K
Kin Lau
Guest
backalley photo said:
How was the focusing with the 135 on the R? It's real easy to focus the J11 (135/4) on the Kiev, but I wonder about what it's like on the R.
back alley
IMAGES
kin, i never shot with it, only wanted to see how it would feel/balance.
i have read of people who have a hard time focussing a 90 on the r and then others having no problems at all.
i would think the 135 might be tricky for some.
joe
i have read of people who have a hard time focussing a 90 on the r and then others having no problems at all.
i would think the 135 might be tricky for some.
joe
K
Kin Lau
Guest
jsnyd said:
Having never been to Alaska, I can't tell you how long of a lense you'll need, but as others have mentioned, 135 is the longest you'll want to go, and LTM 135/4's are quite cheap and there doesn't seem to be any lemons out there, so get the lense and an adapter, and give it a try.
Another suggestion, might be to check out photo.net's and pbase's galleries for Alaska landscape shots. At least you'll get an idea of the focal lengths used.
back alley
IMAGES
for real wildlife shooting i would think that 200mm would be a short tele.
a 300 would be a good all purpose lens.
a 300 would be a good all purpose lens.
VictorM.
Well-known
Another way to go is to buy an inexpensive slr with a long lens. Use the R most of the time and the slr/long lens when necessary. I did this in the early 70's when I had a Leica IIIf with a 50 and 90 and a Practica with a 450. The 450 worked well at Mosport. Don't buy a Practica, they're unreliable, but there's lots of small Pentax SP's available. You don't even need a meter, just meter with the Bessa.
Good point, Victor! On a trip to Spain a few years ago I packed a rather small camera bag with Bessa-L and Minolta CLE with 15, 25, 40, and 90, and found room also for an Olympus OMG with Tokina 500mm mirror lens, a very compact rig. (I had paid $50 for the OMG just for that lens!) I used the 500mm some, and it was fun, though hard to hold steady. There are mirror lenses too in shorter lengths like 250, 350, and 400mm that would be even more compact.VictorM. said:
peter_n
Veteran
I have the Jupiter-11 135/4 and recently got a Tele-Elmarit 135/4. The TE is way too heavy for travel. The J-11 is nice and light, nowhere near as well made as the TE but has excellent optics. I strongly recommend the Jupiter-11 as a travel lens, I recently took it with me on a trip to Europe and it proved invaluable.
W
wlewisiii
Guest
I can only speak to the J-11 in Kiev mount, but I too have found it delightful optically. It handles well and even though it's quite long for a RF lens, it's weight is one place where aluminum shines... 😉 It's fast and easy to use in the real world, so I have no problem with suggesting it to people.
William
William
Byuphoto
Would like to upgrade
And I have a steinhiel 135 f4 for $20backalley photo said:
Byuphoto
Would like to upgrade
I also have a very small Pentax ME Super SLR kit. It includes a 28, 50, 135 and a 80-210 and a 2x converter for $200
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